12/09/2013
The hardworking canines from 2013’s Dig, Digs, Dig replace a dilapidated apartment building with a gleaming high-rise tower in this companion book. “The crane is in place./ The angle’s correct./ Get the ball swinging now./ Wreck, dogs, wreck!” writes Horvath before a page turn reveals a colossal “boom” as the wrecking ball does its thing. From subterranean pipeworks and a 10-inch concrete base to finishing touches (“The last thing to do/ is install the doorbell”), children get a ground-up tour of how a building comes together. Paint mishaps, a “fetch” break, and other canine antics keep the mood light amid all the hard work. Ages 4–8. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Jan.)
This is a rollicking, energetic read that will pump up kids’ enthusiasm for building.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Youngsters who can’t get enough books with pictures of heavy equipment will be attracted to this one.” — School Library Journal
“Kids who get starry-eyed over trucks, earth-moving equipment, and construction sites should go gaga over this book, which has a pack of very capable canines scampering around and digging at a construction site.” Praise for Dig, Dogs, Dig — Kirkus Reviews
“With its punchy rhymes and Hanna-Barbera panoramas, Dig, Dogs, Dig hops along with the bouncy effervescence of P.D. Eastman’s Go Dog. Go!” Praise for Dig Dogs Dig — New York Times
“Fans of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site will eagerly dig into illustrator/designer Horvath’s vehicle-centric debut, first in a planned series.” Praise for Dig, Dogs, Dig — Publishers Weekly
“A dozen dogs and one black cat work hard to build a playground in this amusing story that will please kids who love excavators, cranes and dump trucks… The entire construction process is conveyed in an energetic manner that is both entertaining and educational.” Praise for Dig, Dogs, Dig — Kirkus Reviews
“Youngsters who can’t get enough books with pictures of heavy equipment will be attracted to this one.” Praise for Dig, Dogs, Dig — School Library Journal
With its punchy rhymes and Hanna-Barbera panoramas, Dig, Dogs, Dig hops along with the bouncy effervescence of P.D. Eastman’s Go Dog. Go!” Praise for Dig Dogs Dig
12/01/2013
PreS-Gr 2—The canine crew from Horvath's Dig, Dogs, Dig(HarperCollins, 2013) is needed again, this time on a demolition job, so foreman Duke and his enthusiastic pack head downtown. There's an old building there that has to come down to make way for new high-rise homes at Bark Avenue. Their wrecking ball crashes into the structure with a gigantic "BOOM." The yellow bulldozer clears "piles of rubble, and/bricks and concrete/without any trouble," while the red and blue dump truck hauls it all away. Working dogs deserve a treat, so they grab a quick snack at the "R-Coach," which features hot dogs, corn dogs, chili dogs, and the like. The work isn't finished yet; there are trenches to be built for pipes and drains, a foundation to pour, girders to weld, and cables to run. The afternoon break involves a good game of fetch before installing the finishing touches on the interior. All in all, the penthouse, with its terrace and pool, is perfect, and tomorrow the mutts are off to another job. Horvath's cartoonlike illustrations were created digitally, and the dogs are reminiscent of a beloved old Saturday-morning character, Augie Doggie. Youngsters who can't get enough books with pictures of heavy equipment will be attracted to this one.—Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA
2013-11-02
Those canines are at it again (Dig, Dogs, Dig, 2013), this time demolishing an old apartment building and constructing a new one in its stead. After meeting the crew on the endpapers, readers dive right into the project with the enthusiastic dogs, the rhythm and rhyme of the verses building momentum. The wrecking ball first does its job, then the crew clears the site and begins construction, each different task requiring a different type of truck--bulldozer, dump truck, crane, concrete mixer, forklift, pumper--though not all are named in the text. Great vocabulary will really test young builders' knowledge, though those not construction-savvy may need an adult to help them master the terms: rubble, barricades, tier, girders, welding, riveting, fixtures, terrace. Small details in Horvath's brightly colored digital illustrations will likely draw readers back for repeated looks: As in the dogs' first outing, a black cat lurks on every page, joining the crew on the rear endpapers. The energy reaches a crescendo when a truck full of balls crashes near the site--"fetch, dogs, fetch!"--giving readers yet another thing to look for in the pages that follow. While the construction detail does not reach the level of Sally Sutton's Roadwork (2008), this is a rollicking, energetic read that will pump up kids' enthusiasm for building. Order, grown-ups, order. (Picture book. 4-8)
